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State agents raid seven medical supply companiesTAMPA (AP) — State and federal agents armed with search warrants raided seven medical supply companies suspected of cheating Medicare and other tax-supported insurance programs out of $7.3 million.As investigators gathered documents Thursday that could result in felony charges, a federal judge froze the accounts of 25 businesses and 21 individuals. The Tampa Tribune reported Friday.Authorities said the elaborate scheme, which included businesses in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, was carried out through door to-door sales in low-income and elderly neighbor hoods throughout FloridaAccording to a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower and later joined by state and federal prosecutors, the scam involved kickbacks for referrals, forged doctors’ signatures and money laundered though accounts in Caribbean banks, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday.A recurring ploy involved prom ising older people electric scooters that cost $500 and billing tax-supported insurance for the poor and elderly for wheelchairs that cost between $5,000 and $10,000, the lawsuit said.Sales representatives also allegedly provided powerlift seats, pressure mattresses and hospital beds their clients didn’t need and forged documents stating that superfluous supplies were medically necessary.In August 1997, a former medical supply company salesman, Gary Flewelling, filed a false claims complaint in U.S. District Court. The case was made public for the first time Thursday.Named in the suit were Goldstar Healthcare Inc., Bay Area Medical Products Inc., Global Mobility Inc., Med-Voyage Inc., and T-Tech Medical Services.A Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit identified the principal participants of the operation as William E. Burkholder, 33, of Clearwater; Daniel B. Burkholder, 39, of Largo,. David James Burkholder, 40, of Largo; Barry Douglas Haught, 44, of Tampa; Ernest Lee Sleeth, 43, of Tampa; Terry Duane Thomas, 38, of Safety Harbor, and Scott Allison Madden, 34, of Alpharetta, Ga.State and federal prosecutors have joined Flewelling’s complaint, which seeks reimbursements plus fines of as much as $10,000 for each phony submission.The Federal False Claims Act would allow Flewelling, as a whistleblower, to collect as much as 25 percent of any money the government receives.In January, President Clinton announced a crack down on Medicare fraud, which is estimated to exceed $20 billion a year.Expensive wheelchairs and hospital beds were at the center of scams uncovered recently in New York, Virginia and Florida.
Newspaper Details
Northwest Florida Daily News
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, US
Sat, Sep 12, 1998
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Elizabeth B.
NA 18 Dec 2018
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